The Christmas quiz – week ten as a PhD student.

You can see how long the delay is in these posts based on the content of this one!

Week 10, or as Apple would call it, week X. I am aiming for 300 words or fewer this week. I finished my program! I can now just point it to a directory of images, and it will analyse them all automatically for me. I think I will leave it there in terms of development, as I think I need to produce some results from my experiments. I may, however, work on a GUI in my own time and release if for other people to use and improve. This week, it was the Christmas party part one, part two is in two weeks. It was my first party with academics, I know what you’re thinking, but it turns out it was very similar to any other Christmas party. As a new PhD, there was one significant difference between an academic party and the standard work party. The difference was that I was definitely the weakest link as far as the quiz is concerned, especially as a fair few of the questions were about the professors. I did win the Jenga tower building challenge for my team; alas, it still wasn’t enough to win the quiz, I don’t know what position we finished in. All you need to know about a party with academics is that they are students who never stopped being students.

Next week I am going skiing, so there will not really be anything to report back. I am going to stay at my parent’s little ski shack in Slovakia, so nothing too extravagant. I don’t feel too good about going, mostly as I am going to be missing a few important meetings. Imagine that. Skiing used to be my biggest passions, I would spend 90% of my time inside the park, flipping and grinding anything I could or couldn’t. The further I have come through academia the less willing I am to take risks, I wonder if this is normal?

I will sign off here, I have failed to do it in 300 words, but oh well. I hope to have something interesting to talk about next time.

In 1976 I was befriended by two PhD’s. One an English (professor) if he had chosen to be. And his wife a Psychiatrist.
At a party at their condo in the Palos Verdes Estates. There were several guest, all PhD’s I imagined, but it was the Brain Surgeon who found me out. While discussing something ‘over my head’ he asked me a direct question. Of course I had no idea what he said, and thank goodness Katie saw me and rescued me saying, darn those brain surgeons, they just can’t stop chopping away at people’s minds.
Have a great vacation.